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This imagery, released by the Furgeson, Missouri Police Department Friday, August 15, 2014, depicts an alleged strong-arm robbery at a convenience store. Ferguson police allege the man in these images is Michael Brown, the teen later shot and killed by police.

FERGUSON, Missouri (CNN) — The Ferguson police officer who shot Michael Brown didn’t stop him because he was suspected in a recent robbery, but because he was “walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic,” the city’s police chief said Friday.

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson told reporters the alleged “robbery does not relate to the initial contact between the officer and Michael Brown.”

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So why did Ferguson police decide to release surveillance video of the alleged convenience store Friday -- the same day that they named, six days after the shooting, the white police officer who fatally shot the African-American teenager -- if the two incidents are not related?

Jackson said he released the videotape "because the press asked for it," noting some in the media had filed Freedom of Information requests for the footage and that he couldn't withhold indefinitely. The chief added "we needed to release that at the same time we needed to release the name of the officer involved in the shooting," though he didn't elaborate more on why.

The flurry of information added more intrigue to a case that has spurred protests in Ferguson among those angry at the shooting of the 18-year-old Brown, and what they decry as a heavy-handed response by police afterward.

Earlier Friday, authorities had released documents identifying Brown as the "primary suspect" in the robbery of a convenience store that happened moments before he was killed.

The haul: a $48.99 box of cigars, according to the documents.

The documents claim Brown roughly handled a clerk trying to stop him before walking out of the store with the box of Swisher Sweets. Police also released surveillance video showing a man pushing aside a smaller one who seemingly tried to stop the larger man, who then departed the store.

The claim immediately was met with skepticism among Brown's family and some in the community, who have accused Ferguson police of attempting a cover-up to protect the officer.

"Michael Brown's family is beyond outraged at the devious way the police chief has chosen to disseminate" incomplete information about what happened, family attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement.

Police, he said, were acting "in a manner intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight."

On Twitter, many community members and activists expressed disappointment and outrage.

"How can they not release info on the shooting but link #MikeBrown to robbery. Shame on them," @NafisMWhite tweeted.

Another said that Brown being a suspect should not have led to the use of deadly force.

"When police approached Mike Brown, he was still a suspect, he wasn't guilty of anything, so it shouldn't have come to a shooting," one man told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday.

A key complaint of protesters has been that witnesses say the officer shot Brown as the teenager stood with his hands in the air. Police have said the shooting occurred during a struggle for the officer's gun.

Officer Darren Wilson -- a six-year police veteran, including four years with Ferguson -- was named Friday as the officer who fired the fatal shots. Wilson was in the area around the time of the convenience store robbery, even if he did not try to stop Brown specifically because of that alleged robbery, Jackson said.

More protests expected

The release of Wilson's name satisfied a key demand of protesters and critics of the handling of the case by the suburban St. Louis police department and St. Louis County investigators handling the probe.

But, especially in light of the robbery allegations, the release of Wilson's name is unlikely to quell protests in the city and elsewhere over the death of an unarmed African-American man at the hands of a police officer.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who took over protest security at Gov. Jay Nixon's direction after days of sometimes violent clashes between police and protesters, said he expected calm to prevail when protesters begin to filter back into the city Friday night.

"In our anger, we need to make sure we don't burn down our own house," he said.

Fatal moments

Witnesses have told CNN that the officer and Brown did tussle at the cruiser window, but it didn't look like Brown was trying to get at the officer.

"It looked as if Michael was pushing off and the cop was trying to pull him in," Tiffany Mitchell told CNN on Wednesday night.

Instead, a shot went off, then the teen broke free, and the officer got out of the vehicle in pursuit, the women said.

"I saw the police chase him ... down the street and shoot him down," Crenshaw said. Brown ran about 20 feet.

Another man, Dorian Johnson, said that he was with Brown at the time of the shooting and that police shot him without provocation.

"We wasn't committing any crime, bringing no harm to nobody, but my friend was murdered in cold blood," he told CNN affiliate KMOV.

The documents released Friday name him as the second suspect in the convenience store robbery, but Jackson said Friday that he will not face any charges.

"We have determined that he committed no crime," Jackson said.

Questions remain

Not everyone accepted claims of Brown's involvement in a robbery, and some took to social media to question details of the evidence presented by police.

Pointing to images posted online of Brown's body lying in the street, some people said that the body didn't appear to be as heavyset as the man in the surveillance video and that he seemed to be dressed differently, too.

"Last night was a great night, a great night," Ron Johnson, the Missouri State Highway Patrol captain, said Friday. There were no arrests, he said.

He promised to do his part to keep the calm, using his now signature smile and hugs for protesters.

Nixon and President Barack Obama also have called for peace from all sides and respect for the rights of protesters and the press. Police briefly detained two reporters Wednesday and Al Jazeera America said police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at their camera position.

"There is never an excuse for violence against police or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting," Obama said Thursday. "There is also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights."

Hundreds gathered Thursday in Los Angeles and New York to demand justice for Brown.

The Los Angeles protests included commemoration for Ezell Ford, an African-American youth recently killed there. In New York, police formed a line to halt the march, CNN affiliate WABC reported.

Skip

Joe

@Skip, why did you feel the need to make a racially charged statement? The original comment contains nothing of the sort. This is the problem with a lot of people today, they always have to pull what if it was (Insert different race here) card. Sad!

Skip

ike

Because it’s more than obvious to anyone with a thinking brain that that’s what he was alluding to Joe. And he wouldn’t have made the same Obama bashing remark if this was a story about a white perp. THINK!

Wise Up

After seeing the big gentle giant assault a store owner and steal. I feel duped listening to his friend Dorian give interviews on TV but fail to leave out what had been done prior to Brown getting shot. Whether the incident with this cop had anything to do with his thug behavior where is the responsibility for that. Yes putting to hands in the air is the international code for surrender. What is the the international code for the sales clerk being assaulted? Browns creditability is in question now for me. Where is the accountability for ones actions. I’m a firm believer in cause in effect. Whether the officer knew Brown was a suspect or not. I don’t care if your white, black, purple, green or the damn color clear. It’s about personal accountability so take a big whiff and wise up!

LJ

Wha? Did you read the article at all? He was not the robber, they released the footage “unrelated” to the shooting, and you idiots all took the bait of confusing the two criminal acts. His friend was never charged, the police stopped considering mike a suspect on the robbery, and his friend as an accomplice. Any idiot who is not a racist could tell that just by looking at the pictures and the time between them.

Sam

guilt is based off of fact not opinion

Right the guy in this video has to be Mike Brown. Just like picture that’s been float ing around the web of “Mike Brown” with a pistol in his hand and money in his mouth, just has to be Mike Brown and not murder suspect Yoba Cain. Used to try and slander the character of Mike Brown. There’s just no way that Mike Brown could be innocent.

Don

So what you are saying is that white people commit crimes so why should white people get upset when a black person commits a crime? By saying this you mean that two wrongs always make something right….correct?

Qt Jones this cop raped no one. The cop is a victim as is the poor store clerk that was man handled by a large black thug. I was not there and you were not there but the character of this teen speaks volumes. After committing a crime he was probably on edge and looking over his shoulder. Sees the cop and I am sure things went south from there. How did the cop get a swollen face from being hit? If this teen was such a good black boy staying out of trouble and at home with his momma and family he would still be alive today but he was to busy being a thug and a theif and then decided to disrespect the law and got served. I don’t feel sorry for him. It was bound to happen eventually with the life he was leading. His momma and daddy need to be pointing the finger at themself. They raised him to be a thug and a thief. So what do you get but a dead child? No this whities raping the kid we as a white society want his head too. We don’t defend the guilty or riot and steal and destroy our neighborhoods. On blackies do that and make excuses for their crimes. The whites made me do it. They held my great great great great great great grandpa I never knew as a slave so we need to make them accountable. Sorry but all those that had slaves have been dead and gone a long time. So grow up and take some accountability and responsibility for your own race.

Lolly

With all due respect,
a) we’re all the same race. We’re just ‘presenting’ a different amount of melanin as per our DNA, and
b) many black people are outraged and disgusted by not only Mr. Black’s behavior, but also the behavior of the looters and rioters. Just as Mr. Q.T. Jones cannot assign guilt and blame on all white Americans (thought it seems he is doing it, anyway) for the behavior or the boy who raped a child recently or somesouthern (and northern, by the way) white Americans over 150 years ago, you really shouldn’t and can’t (at least not with any reason or logic) assign blame or character flaws to the “black community” as a whole because of the behavior or SOME of the citizens in Ferguson, Missouri.

QT Jones

Here are other upstanding members of hte white community: YOUR ANCESTORS. THEY RAPED CHILDREN, RAPED WOMEN AND MEN; INVADED COUNTRIES TO STEAL, MURDERED MILLIONS, ENSLAVED MILLIONS. Very upstanding according to you half-humans aka neanderthals. Here are your children representing you by mass murdering, mass shootings, robbery, raping children: http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/04/30/minnesota-man-byron-smith-convicted-murder-shooting-two-teen-intruders. YOU ARE THE WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. YOUR PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED MORE ATROCITIES THAN ANY OTHER RACE. YOU INVADED SEVERAL NATIONS JUST TO STEAL, RAPE AND KILL AND HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MURDER. YOU ARE WITHOUT QUESTION, THE MOST EVIL ‘THINGS’ TO EVER LIVED ON EARTH.

Don

angelpockets

How do you know HIS ancestors did ANY of those things? And do you think YOUR ancestors are free from guilt of treating any people of any color (even their own) with disrespect and hatefulness? I think not, Mr. QT Jones. And a side note, sir. Your ancestors and his ancestors are the same race. They just happen to fall on different places on the brown spectrum. The DNA of each person tells him how much brown they are to “present” on their skin. But a brown person, or a yellow person, or a red person, or a white person are all “persons” and, therefore, of the same race. If his race is the most evil “things” ever to have lived in the world, then guess what, Cookie? So are you.

James

Stephen

Rainman OR

Uh oh, this does not fit the “protestors” story line… could be bad news for them. I am curious if we will see an apology from all those who convicted this officer in the media court. By the way, Michael Brown did have a criminal record, just not an adult one. He has been convicted of crimes while a juvenile and as a result of just turning 18, he did not have an “adult criminal record.”

Darren

E

Let’s see now… a 6’4, 290 lb man who just robbed a store is approached by a police officer and he pushes the cop back into his car. Given that this guy could probably kill the cop with his bare hands what should a cop do when he does not comply with the order to stop? Bear in mind the cop was probably pretty pissed off at the guy for pushing him down.

will

That he pushed the officer was wrong and foolish. If, however you are saying that making a police officer mad can rightfully result in you being shot, I don’t believe in that. An officer can not allow his anger to cause him to lash out in force any more than a regular citizen. If he does, then he can excuse any actions he might take, and that could easily turn out to be unjust.

v

Mick

Not exactly correct V . The original story line gave a depiction of the kid as a college student . We tend to get an image of someone when this is their description . Now the internet is being shown pictures of him holding a gun , no not in a hunting picture , like a gang member pose , with other pictures showing gang hand signs and such . Maybe he was just kidding around . The tape of the robbery and account shows him aggressively handling the small clerk who tried to stop him shop lifting the 48 dollars worth of cheap cigars . Often used as a means of smoking pot . Their is an account of the police officer who shot him being injured by brown , not sure that has been verified for I have not seen it in the mainstream press. till we know more , this could have been a cop being intimidated by Brown , nothing to do with racism , perhaps we should just wait to see . The president seems to think so . I agree .

Ruby2sday

There’s obviously more to the story. Swisher Sweets are commonly used by dopers (hollowed out and filled with weed). Was this kid a dealer? Was he a bully who felt comfortable attacking other people? What will his toxicology report show? Wait to see if the additional details that emerge paint a different picture than just a kid stealing and running from a cop.

Rebecca

v

So a 18 year old kid with no criminal history goes into QT takes some cigarettes. It goes out on the radio the cop comes on scene and shoots him and doesn’t arrest the other guy. This is wrong and reeks of unlawful use of force.

Skip

Roy Rogers

How dare society judge this young man who refused to cooperate with police investigating a conveniance store robbery and assault in which he matched the perpetrators description and then was killed as a result of a struggle over the investigating police officer’s weapon.

How dare society expect this young man and other young men just like him to simply follow the law in this poor, underpriviliged environment.

Priscilla

Exactly! Well said! I wonder, perhaps he was struggling with the Officer for his gun so he might stand a chance on his next robbery bringing more than a box of cigars! Perhaps even, stealing the cigars was a test job! Either way he was the bad guy and the officer was the good guy unless and until proven otherwise.

Birk

Bear in mind the person in the store video assaulted the shopkeeper and didn’t leave immediately. He stood over him and intimidated him after he had grabbed him and shoved him into the shelving adjacent the counter. He and his “bro” walked out of there with their stolen merchandise after committing an act of strong armed robbery and assault.

Susan

spawncap

Yes he does deserve to die, along with anyone who tries to steal, vandalize or break into property or harm anyone. If he was in my state he would have been legally shot because you are allowed to use deadly force to protect you or your property (Texas).

Rebecca

God is Good! I have prayed that all truth will be revealed. While thugs!! are rampaging and tearing up the city of Ferguson, Missouri, the stealing, arsons and destructions are being done in the name of a young man that was not living a life that his family is trying to paint. He was a monster. I cried to see that store owner attempt to get back the property that he refused to pay for. I pray that the truth will come out about this young man’s character and pray that people with integrity will come forth and tell what they saw. I believe what the police said. You see what he did to that store owner. No one can make me believe that he did not pick a fight. I pray that all news reporters get good photos of all of the thugs that burned down the Quik Trip and vandalized all of those stores. They all need to go to PRISON. By the way…I am not White! I am a God fearing Black Senior Citizen with Integrity. May God reign!!

Tired of Seeing my Neighborhood Trashed

Dear Rebecca: Thank you for being courageous to speak the truth. There is no reason for anyone, black, white, or anything in between to steal or destroy the property of another person, or commit bodily harm upon them. I firmly believe that in many cases people who do such things were not raised right. It may not necessarily be the fault of the parent(s) because they probably weren’t raised right either. I pray for the day when all children are raised in loving homes where they are taught right from wrong, and we can all respect one another and treat one another righteously and fairly. I posted a note below yours. I was raised as a white person in this country and acquired some racist attitudes, but I have fought mightily to not act on them, and indeed, to purge them from my soul. I am ashamed that I see them arising in me again just because of where I live. But it’s hard when I feel afraid because of what is going on around me, and I don’t see white kids causing the problems, but black kids. I know the white underclass is just as destructive, but that’s not who I see around me. You indicated that you are a woman of faith. So am I. Can we agree to pray together that our country be delivered from the evils of racism, crime, self-destructiveness, and everything that goes into making those conditions arise?

will

His actions were certainly criminal, but if they qualify him as a monster, I know plenty of all colors. When I was that young, I saw a lot of young people do things like this, Most grew up out of it. He may not have, but I don’t believe he was at a point where he was hopeless and needed to die.

ML King

Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been happy to see this type of behavior. This “they owe me” and ” ill do what I feel like” attitude has to stop. Your setting back all that MLK Jr. stood for. NO! You cannot steal and assault a police officer!! Wake up! Eventually, a guy like this who chose his path would either kill someone or be killed.

a7xdarkness

Tired of Seeing my Neighborhood Trashed

I see this whole episode (and others like it) as symptomatic of the relationship between races in this country. Many black people feel aggrieved (rightly or wrongly), and a certain percentage will take matters into their own hands to “get what is coming to them,” i.e. they will steal what they want. (The same is true of the white underclass.) The police, largely a white group, feels resentful against those who break the law—in many cases, the black underclass. It is their job to enforce the law, but after a while, I believe they may begin to take illegal actions personally. Those who commitment crimes are now not just “breaking the law,” but challenging the police personally. (I’m not saying that is the actual dynamic, but I believe the police may feel that way.) Both sides are afraid of the other, because they believe the other side is out to “get them,” even to the extent of killing them, or depriving them of what is “rightfully theirs.” I am a white person who lives in a neighborhood which is quickly becoming inhabited by the black underclass. The open drug dealing, break ins, and violence are something new to this neighborhood. I am not saying there was never any crime here, but it wasn’t like this. I don’t blame the problems on the color of the people moving here—-I blame it on the class of the people moving here. I have always been a “liberal” who was quick to explain away the criminal actions of others based on their “deprivation.” That is changing. I once saw a quip that “a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.” Well, I haven’t been mugged, but my house has been broken into, and I am frightened when I hear the gunshots at night, see the open drug deals, and put up with the noise, chaos, and graffiti that have become a part of my neighborhood in the past ten years. At least on certain matters, I am becoming a “conservative,” though I don’t like to use that term. I don’t believe conservatives are necessarily racists or segregationists, but because of the fact that the black underclass is taking over my neighborhood, I find racist thoughts arising in myself, and I have the impulse to move out of a neighborhood I’ve lived in all my life, to get away from the people who are turning it into hell on earth.

AMEN VERY WELL SAID. I feel the exact same. I have met very few black individuals that are not of this class of blacks. If you ever watch dance moms Nia’s mom Holly is an upper class black lady who I highly respect and is raising a child who is respectable as well. Then they bring on ghetto lower class black Pattsy and you see the difference. EVen at one point yelling at Holly for not defending a sister. Holly jumps down her throat and tells her not to use her ethnicity to force her to agree with a person who is clearly wrong. This black pride is destroying their own race. They stand up for evil and do not hold their fellow blacks accountable. They lie for one another and cover up crimes and therefor can not be trusted to tell the truth.

ObjectiveNorth

Upon hearing of this story, it seemed very unfair and I was angry. However, upon reading a few articles and seeing the video of this man-mountain acting like a king turd, and then reports of him walking down the middle of a street obstructing traffic and manhandling the officer involved in the shooting, this kid just seems to have thought he could do whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted. Looks like he is at very least, a contributor to his own demise, if not the sole author.

well you guys must not be aware of the fact the officer went to the hospital because Brown punched him so hard, it exploded his eye socket….there was a struggle for the officers gun ..that right there is two felonies. Brown then harassed the officer relentlessly and started to charge the officer. The officer feared for his life so shot him, and none of the bullets went into the back. It was a fair fight to the end. Unfortunately there was a death. Now shut up or prove me wrong. Jesus christ, how hard is it to follow the law?

LaVON

Gregg

Did this young man deserve to die, of course not. We all have decisions to make during our lives, some make better ones than others. This man decided that laws don’t apply to him and that he could steal and push aside anyone that confronted him on doing wrong(the store clerk) unfortunately even law enforcement meant nothing to him and he paid the ultimate price. The truth hopefully will come out, right now the press is having a field day. Black, White it doesn’t matter if you attack a police officer you put your life now in “Their” hands!!!

LaChel

Here’s my view. Mike Brown was a thug. The hulking teen stole swisher cigars to use to smoke weed. He tussled with the cop and it does not appear he was shot in the back. His family, just like Trayvons, tried to portray him as an innocent kid, but he’s got a rap sheet from juvenile violent crimes.

Then folks mainly black want to protest and tear up the town and further hurt an already problematic city littered with liquor stores that the looted.

And how does that help things?

The black chief appointed tried to work with everyone and the looting continues so now the tear gas and tanks are back.

Don

dennis

Let’s see – who’s the racist??? Anyone who decides guilt or innocence in a case like this – without having actually seen the evidence – but simply decides, based on the race of the police officer or accused.
You weren’t there — neither was I — so we just don’t know. All angry recriminations do is show what a racist you are.
End of story
And what race am I?
Human.
Just like everybody else. And – my ancestors came from the Rift Valley in Africa – just like EVERYBODY else.
Black /white stuff is for morons who think being born one color or another means something.

I will just take a jab at this but I would say there is only white people on the police force as they can’t find 1 black man with out a record in that city. They are going to have to seek out some good black men in other areas of the country. Hope they find some that have no record.

These people who are supposed to want the right thing for Michael Brown are no where to be found when blacks attack other blacks. Michael Brown was high, he stole cigarettes and he attacked store clerk (the proof is on the video of the store)- my sympathy lies with the cop who had to get involved because Michael Brown was committing a crime. And I sympathize with the parents of Michael Brown who had to struggle with, not only this tragedy , but also the tragedy of raising a son who had no regards for the property of others nor did he care about his own behavior. Perhaps they should have exerted more discipline although sometimes that doesn’t even work. Al Sharpton and other race mongers (Jessee Jackson) should have stayed out of it until they got the facts, which they never do. They line their pockets by stirring up hatred.

guilt is based off of fact not opinion

The interesting thing about people who dint have a valued argument tend to bring up information that have nothing to do with the case at hand. Mrs. Bonnie Wheeler the fact is that the video of the store robbery doesn’t prove that Micheal Brown robbed that store. If it proved that fact without a doubt the police would say that without a doubt Michael Brown was the person who robbed this store and not say that he would simply fit the discription of the suspect. Also Darren Wilson had no idea of the robbery at the time so the tape or the alleged robbery has nothing to do with the shooting. Secondly as far as the topic of where those people are when blacks kill blacks still have nothing to do with topic at hand. The FACTS is a POLICE OFFICER fired his weapon on an UNARMED teenager who has no criminal record and was surrendering when shot….Those are the facts

spawncap

In Texas he would have been legally shot when he robbed convenient store. In Texas you can use deadly force to protect your person or property. I think every state should have that law, there would be a lot less crime.

Tom Tee

I agree with you. I’m in Australia and do you know what the cops do here with most crooks? They just stand there and argue with them mainly. Secondly. I’m positive that its a directive from the Commissioner(s) himself/themselves, that cops on the beat don’t even confront certain minority criminals, let alone even arrest them. We have the highest jail figures in the world (U.N. Stats), with respect to one race who make up about 2% of the population and so the law is being told NOT to bring in any more. Meantime they just walk the streets doing just exactly as they please and you try and say one word and you are a racist and the Race Card comes straight out and is shoved in your face. Do you think this is teaching these people anything about responsibility and rights and wrongs and consequences etc etc? No. Its simply alienating them deeper and deeper and further and further from everyone else’s real world and doing them no favours whatsoever as a people.

Tom Tee

I’ve seen that swagger before. 4 big fat bodies walk past a lady in a gas station just as she has finished filling up. One reaches in and casually picks up the handbag and keeps walking. The woman begins screaming. They just keep walking with that same swagger. Another person’s life means nothing to them. As she attempts to get back her bag, another of these pieces of human excrement simply climbs into the drivers seat and engages the gear and just drives past the already hysterical and badly shocked woman. Three just keep walking with all her possessions while the other drives away with her car. The attitude is “It might be yours but its mine now and I’ll take it and I’ll hold up my Race Card the moment you begin to howl”. That very same chip on shoulders exists in every nation the very moment and seems it always has.

Laina

I will keep it brief…the only crime was committed by a defiant theif/jay walking/6’3″ 300lb. bully.
Here is the crime kept so so quiet (where was Al not-so-Sharp-ton for the Tennessee Newsom -Christian torture/rape/murders of multiple black on two whites?? Look it up and read every detail. It was much worse than the media reported.

ted

bonniewheeler

I don’t remember hearing anyone say that it was because of cigarettes. However, stealing the cigarettes is one of the factors that Brown was a criminal and the fact that he was smoking pot made him a pot smoking criminal Just check out his past – you will find more negatives – Then check out the officer’s past where you find none. Who is more apt to be doing the right thing. Of course that mob in Ferguson never cared about doing the right thing, They just care about getting by with doing their criminal thing. For some reason they believe we owe it to them.